Spelling Change Verbs -care -cire -gare

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Verbi di cambio ortografico

There’s no official name for them, but I refer to Italian verbs that end in –care, –gare, and –cire as "spelling change verbs" because they have a small spelling change in certain conjugations. For the most part, these verbs are conjugated just like regular verbs, other than a little problem in some conjugations that must be corrected for reasons of pronunciation. It’s easy enough to do, once you understand why and how.

 Note that spelling change verbs are not the same thing as stem-changing verbs.

-care verbs

The letter c followed by a, as in the verb cercare, is pronounced [k]. But look at what happens when you conjugate it in the present tense like a regular –are verb:

io		cerco		noi	cerciamo
tu		cerci		voi	cercate
lui		cerca		loro	cercano

For most of the conjugations, there’s no problem: the c is followed by o or a, so the pronunciation is correct. But in "cerci" and "cerciamo," the c is followed by i, which means the c is pronounced [ʃ] (see Hard and soft vowels). Since we want the c to be pronounced [k] like it is in the infinitive and the other conjugations, we need to harden it by adding h (ch). So the correct conjugation table is this:

io		cerco		noi	cerchiamo
tu		cerchi		voi	cercate
lui		cerca		loro	cercano

More -care verbs

abbrancare		to bite
arrecare		to bring
attaccare		to attach
bloccare		to lock
cercare		to look for
eduxcare		to educate
elencare		to make a list
giocare		to play
imbarcare		to board
imbucare		to mail
impaccare		to wrap
impiccare		to hang
leccare		to lick
locare		to locate
mancare		to miss
raffrescare		to cool
sbarcare		to unload
seccare		to dry
sporcare		to dirty
sprecare		to waste
stancare		to tire
toccare		to touch

-gare verbs

Verbs that end in –gare have the exact same problem. The letter g followed by a, as in the verb pagare, is pronounced [g]. But here’s what happens when you conjugate it in the present tense:

io		pago		noi	pagiamo
tu		pagi		voi	pagate
lui		paga		loro	pagano

Once again, for most of the conjugations, there’s no problem: the t is followed by o or a, so the pronunciation is [g]. But in "pago" and "pagiamo," the g is followed by i, which means the g is pronounced [dʒ]. To get back to [g], we need to harden the g by adding h (gh). So the correct conjugation table is this:

io		pago		noi	paghiamo
tu		paghi		voi	pagate
lui		paga		loro	pagano

More -gare verbs

allegare		to attach
collegare		to connect
coniugare		to conjugate
elongare		to elongate
fregare		to cheat
fugare		to flee
impiegare		to use; to take (time)
legare		to tie
litigare		to argue
navigare		to steer, sail
negare		to deny
pagare		to pay
piegare		to fold
pregare		to pray
spiegare		to explain
vagare		to wander

-cire verbs

These few verbs have just the opposite problem. The letter c followed by i, as in the infinitive cucire, is pronounced [tʃ]. But when you conjugate it in the present tense like a regular –ire verb:

io		cuco		noi	cuciamo
tu		cuci		voi	cucite
lui		cuce		loro	cucono

In "cuco" and "cucono," the c is followed by o, which means the c is pronounced [k] (see Hard and soft vowels). Since we want the c to be pronounced [tʃ] like it is in the infinitive and the other conjugations, we need to soften it by adding i. So the correct conjugation table is this:

io		cucio		noi	cuciamo
tu		cuci		voi	cucite
lui		cuce		loro	cuciono

More -cire verbs

cucire		to sew
ricucire		to mend
scucire		to unstitch

 Related lessons

• Hard and soft vowels
• Regular –are verbs
• Regular –ire verbs
   

 En español

• Verbos con cambio ortográfico
   

 En français

• Verbes à orthographe corrective
   

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